The Sterilization Procedure:

  A Study of the History and Impact of Physically Preventing Reproduction in the United States
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Home Antecedents and the Procedures Eugenics Choosing the Procedure and Alternatives Impact Bibliography

Americans have been obsessed with reproduction since the founding of the Republic. Citizens across many class and social backgrounds regarded procreation and many children as a blessing bestowed by God as well as sound social and national policy. Yet as Americans entered the nineteenth century, an emerging middle class began to experiment with various methods of birth control as a way to limit family size and enjoy new-found luxuries. As the birth-rate among middle and upper class Americans declined, there was a perceived sense among elites, social reformers, and the nascent medical profession that the birth-rate among so called “undesirables”—the poor, criminals, mentally ill, asocials—was dramatically increasing. Concerned American scientific, medical, and social elitists searched for a cure to the rising problem of “degeneracy.” Many reasoned that the best cure would be to simply hinder these undesirable groups from reproducing. Yet there was no safe and efficient method of physically controlling birth. By the end of the nineteenth century, modern sterilization procedures were developed and perfected—all in the name of reforming and bettering the American race. Ironically, these sterilization procedures, namely vasectomy and tubal ligations, would become voluntary forms of birth control for millions of American families seeking to limit their numbers of children permanently.            The purpose of this research website is to examine the history and evolution of modern sterilization procedures—specifically the vasectomy for men and tubal ligation for women. Although it is not the most pleasant historical topic, the sterilization procedure is an important technological artifact in the history of American medicine, birth control, and culture. This site explores the various antecedents of modern sterilization procedures and how these procedures have evolved over the last one hundred years. In doing so, this site reveals the crucial role of eugenics on sterilization development as well as the importance of eugenics in American social and cultural history.  Towards the end of the twentieth century, sterilization became a popular birth control option for many American families. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1995, nearly 41 percent of women in their reproductive years turned to sterilization as their method of birth control. These numbers alone illustrate the importance of sterilization in American history.1

Page Created By: Noah Cincinnati               Email Address: ncinc5ce@umw.edu              Page Updated: 3/16/05